The Curse
by Madisonne
Summary: Set after the wars. After tragedy strikes, repeatedly, can the surviving pilot carry on with life? Warnings: Death! (But it's not so bad, you'll see what I mean), supernatural stuff, very vague yaoi (ya blink, ya miss it!), language. Part of a series.
1. Default Chapter

Cursed. He must have been cursed. All his life as a circle. Pain over and over. Anyone, _everyone_ he was even the most tenative of friends with died. Leaving him alone, alone, like he'd always been... Well, since the first death. His breath caught as he thought of her, so proud and so, so strong... And then "the curse", as he referred to it, followed him, even after all the penance he'd done during the wars, followed him to where he thought he was safe, the end of the wars and the dawn of new beginnings, his hopes for a normal life dashed down with the first letter.

~We regret to inform you...~ What the hell was that?!! Those people never gave a damn about him or anyone else they _ever_ contacted. ~... That Mr. Winner has fallen gravely ill with a rare, untreatable form of cancer.~ 

That was as far as he had read before tossing the paper aside and throwing together his things to make the trip t his friend's bedside. Once there, Quatre was unconscious, floating between life and death. Only three days later, they lost him. 

With a heavy heart, he'd begun to head back to his home. He'd then been confronted with the news that Trowa had died only minutes after Quatre in some freak accident. He stayed long enough to see the two lowered into the ground, side-by-side, in two of five plots Quatre had picked out at the end of the war. At the time, Duo had mocked Quatre about it, and, at the time, he'd concurred with the crazy baka, but now he was oddly comforted by the fact that he'd be in eternal slumber right next to his four best buddies. 

It was only three months later that he'd gotten the letter about Duo. About his car-accident which killed him four hours after his immediate hospitalization. So he stood, with Heero, watching the slow decent of the coffin into the freshly dug grave next to his other two fallen comrades. 

Just as he began to heal, he received a letter from a hospital in New York city. Heero had attempted suicide, unable to cope with his koi's death. He'd rushed to the hospital and sat, waiting for his friend to either cross over or to rejoin the conscious. He spent hours upon hours sitting with the uncharacteristically limp hand in his, talking to the prone form on the hospital cot. He sat that way for well over a week, then watched as another friend officially "passed over".

That had been a month ago. 

He took another sip of his wine, somewhat aware that he had consumed near two bottles of the stuff and was somewhat amused that he didn't even care. 

And then, the voiced started again This time he _knew_ he was crazy, for he could _see_ them too. He looked over his fallen fellow pilots, Quatre leading Trowa around by his hand, Heero with his arm casually resting around an all-too-cheerful ghost's waist. 

"Now I _know_ I'm crazy..." He sighed, rubbing his eyes in disbelief.

"Rub your eyes all you like, 'Fei. 'Snot gonna make us go away." Duo mocked as the group approached the mini-bar of his house. "And what a _friendly_ welcome at that! Ye'd think he'd seen a ghost!"

"_Four_ ghosts, to be precise." Quatre corrected.

"Wha'? How?!! You're, you're _dead_! I saw you lowered into your _graves_! It doesn't get any dead-er than _that_!!!"

"Well, duh!" Replied Duo. "We're _ghosts_."

Wufei turned an even whiter shade of white. "But... _How_?!!"

"Well," Heero began. "After we died, we were given a choice. We could either stay and fix things or go up and let some angels take care of it. We chose to stay here and fix things up."

"Wait, fix _what_? I don't understand." Wufei buried his face in his hands.

"Well, our first goal is to get you to stop drinking." Quatre dumped the half-empty bottle down the sink. 

"And to make you sleep more often." Duo chimed in.

"I don't need to sleep more, I'm fine!" He protested weakly.

Duo gave him a patronizing look and an annoyed sigh. "You haven't slept in four days. And when you _do_ sleep, it's only a couple of hours at a time, and those hours riddled with terrible dreams." He walked through, literally _through_, the bar. "It's time you learned to put all this behind you."

"How... How did you do that?"

"What? Walk through the bar?" Duo asked.

"Uh-huh."

"Well, we can chose whether or not to affect or be affected by this world. The only reason you can see us now is because we decided to let the world affect us. We've been around for quite some time, but only now have we started to directly alter your life."

"That would imply that you have been _indirectly_ affecting my life at some point... What did you do?" He asked, suspiciously.

"Well..." Duo bit his lip. "We got that security man to come see you..."

"So _that's_ why he kept calling!" Wufei shook his head. "What, you guys don't think I can't protect myself, is that it?"

"No, we just would feel more comfortable if you _did_ have body-guards, and so forth." Quatre said.

"What else have you done?"

"Well, there is one more thing..." Quatre began.

"Tell me." Wufei's voice was dangerously low.

"Well..." He squirmed uncomfortably. "I sorta... Got you your job..." He blushed.

Wufei thought about that. "You did _what_?!!"

"I'm sorry!" Quatre pouted.

"Damn, I _knew_ that guy was creeped out by _something_, the minute I signed on with him..."

"You do have to admit that it's a pretty cool job, though... I was pretty jealous myself when you got it." Duo reminded him.

"What, parading around in front of a bunch of cameras? Oh yeah, it's a _blast_!" Wufei's voice was dripping with sarcasm.

"Hey, being an actor-model can't be all _that_ bad!" Duo sighed.

"Well..." Wufei thought about it. "I _do_ kinda like it when I get to race cars for ads and stuff..." 

"That's the spirit!" Quatre smiled.

"So, why are you all here now? I mean, why not at a decent hour when people are actually _awake_?!!" Wufei asked, slightly cross.

"We came now _because_ people are usually asleep at this hour. And you're not." Heero explained.

"You should be falling asleep right about... Now." Quatre said, watching Wufei as his head slowly fell to the counter. "Okay, he's dead asleep now. Good thinking with putting the sleeping drug in the wine, Duo."

"Hmm? Oh, yeah, child's play, really."

The four of them got Wufei tucked into bed, then took posts to make sure nothing would bother him that night.

* * * * * 

"Don't you feel kinda _bad_ going through his stuff like this?" Duo asked, leaning on the door-jam of Wufei's office. 

"Hmm? Oh. Not really." Heero replied, flipping through a stack of papers. "Since we're not technically _alive_ anymore, I think the rules are a bit different. And besides, we're doing this to _help_ him, not _hurt_ him!"

"Oh, fine... Just don't leave any evidence that you were here!"

Heero just gave him a look and went back to work. He was leafing through a stack of envelopes when he came across one at the bottom of the stack. With his name on it. He hesitated, not sure whether he should open it or not. On one hand, it would be a grievous violation, Wufei may never have wanted him to see it. On the other hand, this could be the answer to the problem he'd seen in days of watching the still-alive pilot. 

He made his decision and tore open the envelope. His eyes darted to the top of the page to see when it was written. January 17th. He winced, only one day before Wufei had gotten the news about Quatre. 'So _that's_ why I didn't get this...' 

He continued reading, horror getting more and more apparent in his eyes. Before he'd even read the signature, he was on his feet and walking through the wall to the room where the others were keeping guard over the sleeping pilot. As he entered, the others looked up at him, curious as to what had brought him out of the study.

"You guys... I'm afraid I have some rather bad news..."


	2. Chapter Two

The Curse

By: Madisonne

Part: 2/?

Warnings: Angst, death (but it's not very disturbing! I mean, not to say that death is _good_, but, aw heck, just read it!!!) , slight slight slight yaoi (ya blink, ya miss it!)

Disclaimer: Gundam Wing does NOT belong to me... (Damn, damn, damn...) No infringement on the rights of the owners of said anime intended. Don't sue me, suing isn't nice. As for the fic, don't steal it! Review and I will love you forever! ;-D! 

Notes: Special thanks to qkslvr, who inspired me to work more on the fic! Hope you enjoy!

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As their solemn meeting drew to a close, Wufei stirred in his sleep, a frown starting to permeate between his brows. They stood still, not sure what to do. Quatre then thought of something and grabbed one corner of a sheet on the bed and poked the dreaming pilot sharply.

Wufei jumped to consciousness. "Wha'? Whassa matter?" He slurred his words uncharacteristically as a result of the drugs he'd inadvertently taken.

"You were having a nightmare." Quatre explained.

He flopped back down on the bed, one arm flung over his eyes. "What time is it?"

"Around one in the afternoon." Heero estimated.

"Oh," He sighed, then sat straight up in his bed. "It's Saturday, isn't it?"

They all nodded.

Wufei flung himself from the bed and went into the bathroom. The others heard a tap being turned on and the resulting hiss of water. Then, Wufei reappeared, pulled out an outfit at random from a large, walk-in closet, then went back into he bathroom.

"What do you suppose?" Quatre began, as Duo pulled a Palm-V out of one of Wufei's jackets.

"How did you know about that?" Heero asked.

"Saw him put it in there a while ago..." He answered, absentmindedly, while clicking on the calendar. "He has a movie premiere to go to tonight, followed by a reception."

Then the heard Wufei call from inside the bathroom. "Call Lea and tell her I'll be a little late today, please."

"What's her num..." Quatre began, but then Duo resumed clicking on the Palm-V.

"555-1438." He went over to the phone and punched in the number. A few seconds later, an all-too-spunky girl's face popped onto the vid-screen. "Hello! This is Lea, how may I direct your call?"

"Hi, I'm calling on behalf of Chang Wufei; he'll be a little late today."

"Alright... Say, who're you?" She asked.

"Uhm... His new... Personal assistant."

"Oh, well, we'll see you in a bit then!" They both hung up.

By this time, Wufei had finished showering, was fully dressed, and heading for the garage. "You all can tag along, if you want."

In the end, Duo and Quatre went, while the other two stayed behind to clean up.

Wufei lead them to a classic silver BMW convertible. As the other two drooled over the cool car, Wufei slid in and started the engine. "I don't know _how_ all three of us will fit into a two-seater, but you all figure it out."

The solution was fairly simple, although both ghosts were a little put out at having to be chibi-tized.

They were sitting still at a red light when the people in the car beside them ogled at the young star while also wondering about the two little people beside him.

"Chang Wufei, right? Your movies are _awesome_ dude!"

Wufei nodded to them in appreciation.

"Didn't know you had kids, though."

"I don't!!!" Wufei insisted, then sped off as the light turned green. A few minutes later, they handed over the keys to a valet and walked up to the four-story business in front of them.

Quatre and Duo shuddered violently as they took their normal forms and followed their live friend into the building. 

Wufei was instantly recognized and told to have a seat. The others followed suit, sitting in chairs on either side and slightly behind the ex-pilot in a protective, flanking position. They waited mere minutes before the girl Duo had spoke with on the phone bustled in and motioned for Wufei to follow her.

He did and she turned back to the two boys who had stood up to follow her. "Now, now, hold tight. I'm sure you won't need to be with him now as his personal assistant and his..." She looked askance at Quatre. "How do you know him?"

"I'm his... Head of security, ma'am." He answered, as politely as possible.

She looked at him, short as heck and looking like the typical 99-pound weakling on the beach. "Riiiiight... You think you're so smart, that we won't figure it out. Well, I know _exactly_ what you are to him. But don't worry, we see stuff like this all the time, it's no big deal!" She grinned at them one last time and then left.

Silence.

"I don't get it..." Quatre bit his lip.

Duo sighed. "You are too innocent for your own good." He suddenly sat straight up in his seat.

Quatre looked askance at him, then gasped as he realized what was going on.

"Looks like we've got company..." Duo muttered.

Quatre watched as a person entered the building, his back to them. Four very vivid ghosts followed the person. It became obvious in the ensuing conversation that nobody _except_ Quatre and Duo could see them.

Casually, Duo went up to the front desk, stepping between the person and his super-natural followings. Barely moving his mouth, he addressed the spirits. "You have one to follow as well."

The ghost who was in front jumped at being addressed. "How... You can, you can..."

"See you?" He smiled. "I'm un-dead, too." HE took off the disguising glamorie he'd cast over himself.

"Gundam pilot 02." The see-through form of Relena addressed him.

"Yup, and you all are here for?"

"That man," Relena pointed over his shoulder to the man they'd followed in. "Zechs Merquise."

"Aa, very interesting..." He thought about that.

"And you?"

"What?"

"Who do you follow?"

"The only surviving _true_ Gundam pilot. 05."

"I didn't know 01 had passed on..." Noin pondered. "He was still alive when I died."

"Dead now." Duo shrugged. "Why don't you all join us over there?" He pointed to where Quatre was seated.

Once everyone was settled, Quatre, ever the diplomat began, "We are here for two different people, but with the same ends, how can we use this to our advantage?"

Lady Une and Treize exchanged a glance. "Zechs needs someone to understand him, someone to help him put to rest the wars. He's tried all sorts of stuff, but nothing has helped. We believe that someone who has gone through similar things may help him reconcile his feelings."

"Yes, I can see that. And Wufei would benefit from having someone with whom he could freely discuss the wars and such... The only problem is getting them together..."

"Name the time and place and we'll get him there." Noin nodded.

"Well, tonight he's got the opening of..."

"His latest film?" Relena asked.

Duo nodded. "How did you...?"

"Zechs is going too, don't ask me why... Oh, this is _perfect_!" She clapped her hands in glee.

Duo marked their fellow pilot's approach and nudged Quatre in warning. The two nodded to the spirit and went to join Wufei as they left the business.

"Oo! Like the hair!" Duo complimented what Lea had done with Wufei's hair.

He nodded absentmindedly, while trying to make the keyless start-up and entrance remote for his car work.

"Where next?" Duo asked as he chibi-tized and hopped into the newly unlocked vehicle.

"Armani." He started the car and pulled onto the busy road. "Gucci will meet us there as well as Versace." He pulled into the lot of a ten-story skyscraper and handed the car over to a young valet. They were then escorted into the building where they were greeted by a perky young sales-clerk. 

"Ah, Mr. Chang, we were expecting you! And who are you accompanied by today?"

"I'm his personal assistant and he is his head of security." Duo spoke up.

"Oh, well..." He gave Quatre a sceptical look. "Interesting choice in... Security. Should do well if you're ever attacked by a rabid piece of ice!" He laughed, but stopped when he saw the other two were _not_ amused. 

"Why does everyone think I'm so small and weak?!!" Quatre shrieked, then turned on Duo. "Don't answer that!"

Duo smiled innocently.

"I _am_ loaded, you know!!!" He pulled back his coat to reveal various weapons.

The clerk jumped back in alarm. "Sir, I didn't mean anything by it! Please don't kill me!"

Wufei gave Quatre a look. "My friend's just a little high-strung, that's all. Don't mind him, he's really quite harmless..."

"Yes, well... If you'll step this way, sir?" The man escorted Wufei to a private room.

Four hours later saw him ready to go, waiting for his chauffer.

"Dude, you trust _us_ to take your car back to your house?!!" Duo asked, incredulously.

Wufei shook his head. "I don't trust _you_ to take it home, I trust _Quatre_."

"Cold, man, cold..." Duo pouted for the rest of the wait (about twenty minutes) which ended when a long black limousine pulled up and their "charge" was helped into the vehicle by his chauffer. "Get one scratch on the car, and I'll kill you." 

Duo made a face at him as the limo pulled away.


End file.
